Planting Seeds of Change: Jennifer Doucet’s Quest for Affordable Diagnostics
Diagnostic tests are a vital part of the healthcare industry. It’s the first line of defense when it comes to identifying and managing various medical conditions. Whether it’s detecting contagious diseases like COVID-19 or monitoring chronic illness, the accuracy and efficiency of diagnostic tests greatly impact patient health results. However, accessibility and affordability of these tests have been a long existing challenge that still stands today, especially in underprivileged communities where resources for quality of life are limited. That’s where bright minds like Jennifer Doucet come into the big picture. She’s actively working on transformative ways to develop low cost diagnostics using cutting edge technology like cell-free synthetic biology systems under the supervision of Dr. Keith Pardee in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy located in Toronto.
Her Journey 📌
Jennifer grew up thinking about what she wanted to do, and always followed her passion and did things she enjoyed in the moment.
Jennifer started her career in plant biology with an undergrad project, and then did her PhD in plant biology with a focus on genetics. She eventually found herself working at a diagnostics company. There, she learned skills in the lab that allowed her to find her interests and build connections.
Since she worked here during the era of the pandemic, she realized that the COVID-19 rapid tests were not very accurate or reliable, whereas PCR tests were complicated and had to be sent to a lab. There was just no easy, quick, and fully accurate option. Researching this problem appealed to her, because it was a pressing issue affecting the entire world. She also began to think about the possibility of creating actual medical devices to run these tests.
During this time, she realized the importance of doing things that make you happy and brings you joy, and always following your hopes and dreams, even as they shift.
What does she do? 💪
Jennifer is currently a postdoc researcher at the University of Toronto. The lab she works at focuses on two key areas: diagnostics like COVID tests, and biomanufacturing like figuring out low-cost ways to make reagents (substance or compound that can facilitate a chemical reaction) using cell-free systems.
So, what are cell free systems? Think of it like this:
You basically take all the components of the various amino acids out of usually bacterial cells, so it’s no longer a biological organism. Using this system for genetic engineering is promising. This system allows freeze drying, which ensures the bacteria is not alive but is preserved for long term and makes the handling process much safer.
Let’s explore how it works in more detail:
There’s a gene circuit which has something called a toehold switch (a piece of DNA that can sense environmental stimuli). When a pathogen is present, the sequences of COVID, Zika or whatever's of interest is looked at. The gene circuit activates the toehold (toggle) switch, and that produces something called a reporter (a special protein that is visible). They’re usually visible through either a chemical reaction or a fluorescent in-built mechanism which emits light. For example, a protein that emits light in response to the presence of a pathogen of interest can be produced. But, there’s also a lot of different types of reporters that you can attach to the end of the pathogen. In fact, there’s a special substance, which could actually produce a chemical reaction that produces a color change from yellow to purple.
“This technology is a lot cheaper, and a lot more accessible. And, it allows you to freeze-dry these components. It’s a lot simpler and more scalable.”
During COVID, Jennifer and her colleagues at the lab developed the cell-free system based diagnostic for COVID as a low-cost alternative to rapid antigen or PCR tests.
“So when COVID is present in the sample, the system activates an enzyme, and then that produces glucose, and you can read it on a glucose meter. Gene circuits are quite flexible, and you can basically engineer them to do a variety of different interesting things.”
In fact, they were able to collaborate with partners in Latin America and beyond to make further advancements to their proof of concepts, discover new knowledge on biomanufacturing and to eventually make a tangible difference in the scientific community.
Key Lessons 🔑
- Write out the steps of what you’re going to do; form a checklist.
Manage your thoughts, time, and tasks using lists. A notebook/planner can be your best friend. Writing things down is also scientifically proven to help you remember things better!
“I take my notebook and I take my planner everywhere because I think that when you’re doing anything lab work related, just write things out and actually just go through it, okay, I’ve done this, I’ve done this, this is what I need to do next.”
2. Cultivate your passions.
When you’re in high school, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. “I have to get perfect grades all the time” or “I need to join five clubs”. Definitely have exposure to a variety of different things but stay calm and controlled.
3. Explore and have fun!
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, and do what you enjoy and find fun — this will lead you to the right place in your life that you enjoy!
“Explore yourself and reflect on yourself and develop your own passions and the things that you’re interested in. But it’s more important to have fun while you’re doing it.”
4. When learning a new concept, think of how it applies to different situations.
Having trouble memorizing a biology concept or a concept in general? Don’t worry! When you learn a new thing, try to think of how it applies to different situations. Understanding a concept instead of remembering it moves it from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.
“I’m kind of against memorization because obviously you need to understand the concept rather than just memorizing it because memorizing it just a short term memory. But if you actually understand it, then it’s kind of like a long term memory.”
5. Don’t be shy! Go ask questions!
Jennifer’s mentor always used to tell her to go ask questions and talk to as many people as possible to overcome her shyness. Then, only you’ll realize the amount of knowledge and information you can learn from people. It’s not easy. It’s usually an ongoing process, but you need to make sure to put a conscious effort into it.
6. Find mentors you resonate with.
“I was very fortunate to have some really great mentors in my life. I could ask for feedback and what are my areas that I need to improve on?”
7. Plan for next steps.
“Thinking about what’s next in life is so important. What am I doing today and where is it going to take me?”
8. Teamwork and collaborating with others is an important skill to learn.
It will give you a new perspective and new ideas over time, and will balance out things you’re not good at with things you’re great at. In this day and age, collaboration is even easier, as you can now talk to anyone you want all over the world through the click of a few buttons.
“But I think that now it’s becoming more important to be even more collaborative and collaborate with people who are not even in the same geographical area as you are, like, that’s becoming a lot easier.”
9. Learn how your brain works.
This way you can optimize studying, reading, learning, improve yourself and broaden your knowledge.
“I mean, that was probably one of the reasons why I struggled with my transition to university was that I cannot and I still to this day, I cannot memorize things -it’s just not how my brain works.”
Rapid Fire 🔥
- Who’s your biggest role model? PhD Advisor
- What’s your dream job if not in the Synbio field? Project Manager of Clinical Trials
- Do you prefer coffee or tea? Coffee
- What’s your go-to comfort food? Mac and Cheese
- Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning Person
- What’s your preferred mode of transportation: car, bike, or public transit (METRO)? Bike
- Would you rather explore space or the depths of the ocean? Outer Space
- What’s the proudest moment in your life? Getting PHD
TL;DR ✨
- Jennifer develops low cost diagnostics using cell-free synthetic biology systems at Dr. Keith Pardee’s Lab at Univeristy of Toronto.
- She did her PhD in plant biology, but found interest in working in the diagnostics space.
- Cell-free systems is a mixture of genetic bacterial materials where biochemical reactions occur. These chemical reactions are engineered to combat certain diseases.
- Jennifer and her colleagues at the lab developed the cell-free system based diagnostic for COVID as a low-cost alternative to rapid antigen or PCR tests.
- Manage your thoughts, time, and tasks using lists.
- Push yourself to ask as many questions as possible.
- Find mentors you resonate with.
- Understanding a concept instead of remembering it moves it from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.
